Doing Your Homework: How to Prepare to Sell to the Government February 18, 2015 Wyoming Entrepreneur Procurement Technical Assistance Center Brett Housholder Alyssa Lozier Andi Lewis

Required registrations to be completed in advance Places to search for opportunities & conduct market research: – Dynamic Small Business Search Profile – DSBS – USASpending.gov – Federal Procurement Data System – FedBizOpps – fbo.gov – Agency Forecasts Topics

NAICS Codes We’ll Use Today – Other Heavy & Civil Engineering Construction – Highway Street & Bridge Construction – Environmental Consulting – Engineering – Remediation Services – Janitorial Services – Landscaping Services

DUNS Number Certain registrations are absolutely required Must obtain a DUNS number Gives you credibility in the marketplace Provides useful information for other businesses and creditors seeking to partner with an organization.

System for Award Management (SAM) Must register in System for Award Management (SAM) Replaces/combines CCR, ORCA, EPL – (make SURE this is the site you use – look for the “.gov”) – Absolutely must be registered here to receive any government contracts – Designed to be a single resource for multiple required registrations

Market Research Sites Dynamic Small Business Search USASpending.gov Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) – (note: https) FedBizOpps Various agency or department forecast sites

Where to Search for Codes North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Product Service Codes/Federal Supply Codes (PSC/FSC) pscs/ Standard Industry Classification (D&B/DUNS)

DSBS – A Marketing Tool Not an absolute requirement, but still vital to contracting success – – This is your tool to market to contracting officers – Your opportunity to tell agencies what you’re good at, what products & services you provide, and what past work you’ve done – Able to be edited through SAM (SBA Profile) – Self-certifying database

Dynamic Small Business Search Many filters available to narrow search results (certifications, codes, keywords, etc.) Can limit geographically Excellent tool to research your competitors Site is used by contracting officers and agencies daily to find companies Small businesses need to create an informative profile and keep it up-to-date

DSBS Homepage

DSBS Examples Search for a janitorial company in Colorado using NAICS Search for a janitorial company in Colorado using a keyword – Note 266 results versus 69 results – If a contracting officer used only keywords – 197 companies would not come up in their search Lesson: Create a good profile!

Janitorial by NAICS, Colorado:

Janitorial by keyword, Colorado:

How Do I Use USA Spending?

What is USA Spending? Searchable website, free of cost, that displays information on each federal award. (Similar to Includes name of entity receiving award, funding agency, transaction type, location of entity receiving award Prime award information shown on the site is provided by Federal Agencies Data is downloadable from the “Data” page and the “Trends” page. Can be accessed through the internet at:

Using the site Search for prime award spending data by using the following criteria: Keyword NAICS Code Place of Performance/State Set Aside Code Narrow search results by filtering: Type of spending Agency Recipient Product/Service Code NAICS description Fiscal Year Use the interactive map to filter results by location.

Other Features? Use the interactive map to filter results by location. Sub-award documents can be easily pulled from the search function. Want to see how money is being spent over time? Use the “Trends” tab to look at contract spending or configure your own type of trend. Get snapshots of USASpending.gov data with the “Data Feeds” feature and save them to your computer. Get quick reviews of fiscal year spending separate out by agency, prime awardee or location.

USAspending.gov Homepage

Where to Find Opportunities

What is Fed Biz Opps? As required by the Small Business Act and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act,contracting officers must disseminate information on proposed contract actions as follows: For proposed contract actions expected to exceed $25,000, by synopsizing in the Government Point of Entry: The GPE may be accessed via the Internet at

The Simple Answer: FBO is a website ( If a contract is expected to have a value of over $25K, the government must post it on this website The government does not have to advertise it anywhere else Business owners can search this website in many different ways to find opportunities that they may be able to bid on

FedBizOpps Homepage

How Do I Use Fed Biz Opps?

How Can I Search? Place of Performance (POP) Set Aside Code Procurement Type Agency Keyword NAICS Code (Product/Service) Classification Code

How Do I Make it Easier? Register and create a profile Set up daily searches for solicitations that apply to your business Follow specific opportunities so you know of any updates Join and monitor the Interested Vendors list to look for possible subcontracting opportunities

What About Smaller Jobs? Jobs anticipated to be less than $25k do not have to be posted on FBO or publicly advertised, so businesses should: Create an effective profile in Dynamic Small Business Search Get to know the agencies in your area (networking events, check in via phone/ , etc.)

How Do I Use FPDS?

What is FPDS? Searchable website, free of cost, that displays information on each federal award. Includes: Award ID, Vendor name, date signed, NAICS code, Vendor City, Vendor State, Award Type, Contracting Agency, CO, Vendor DUNS & Zip. Provides details on the procurement activities of more than 60 federal departments. Similar to USASpending.gov Can be accessed through the internet at:

Using the site Conduct an initial search for award data by using the following criteria: Keyword NAICS Code Place of Performance/State Narrow search results by filtering the following in descending or ascending order: Contract type Agency/Agency Code/ID Recipient Place of Performance (PoP) Country Name Place of Performance (Pop) State Name NAICS Contract Fiscal Year Data is downloadable via PDF or CSV

FPDS.gov Homepage

What About Agency Forecasts?

Agency Forecasts Many agencies publish forecast information for the coming year Example - REMEMBER – Ask the agencies about these sites!

Brett Housholder 300 S. Wolcott, Ste. 300 Casper, WY Andi Lewis 1400 E. College Dr. Cheyenne, WY Alyssa Lozier 213 W. Main St, Ste. C Riverton, WY PTAC TEAM